Sleeping 4-year-old boy from Atlantic City left in parked school bus; later found in Pleasantville

A 4-year-old boy from Atlantic City whose mother reported him as
being left behind on a school bus was picked up at the
Pleasantville police station an hour later.

Atlantic City police received a call at about 5:25 p.m. Thursday
from the 1800 block of Marmora Avenue, Sgt. Monica McMenamin said.
A woman said that her son was not dropped off by the bus from the
Head Start Program at his regular time.

The boy, who was not identified, was reunited with his mother in
Pleasantville at 6:30 p.m., while a representative from the
Division of Youth and Family Services observed.

“It's a classic kid-fell-asleep-on-the-bus moment,” McMenamin
said, adding the bus driver did not know the child was on the bus
the bus was parked it in the lot.

She said the child woke up and started honking the bus horn. A
passer-by heard the horn and alerted Pleasantville police
immediately.

A 2007 state law requires school-bus drivers to visually inspect
a bus at the end of a route to determine that no students have been
left behind.

McMenamin said the unidentified driver did not check the
bus.

Violations could lead to a six-month suspension for the bus
driver on a first offense and a permanent revoking of certification
for a second offense.

A similar incident happened in January in Lower Township, when
4-year-old Josslynn Cox fell asleep on a school bus and woke up
alone while the bus was parked at another school. The driver of
that bus was suspended without pay.